Businesses and residences normally receive power from a utility company. The reliability of the power company depends on many factors such as the weather, usage spikes, short circuits, accidents or other damage to transmission lines or power stations. Certain locations may be particularly prone to blackouts. Low lying areas may be susceptible to floods. Coastal areas may be susceptible to hurricanes. High usage geographic areas may be susceptible to rolling blackouts.
Any breaks in power utility service may be unacceptable to customers, and some businesses may have mission critical systems, such as computer systems in call centers or refrigerators in grocery stores, that rely on constant power. In other businesses such as hospitals, lives may be lost if the power to a respirator is interrupted. These customers may rely on a backup source of powers.
One backup source of power is a generator. The generator and the utility company may be connected to the electrical system of a customer through a transfer switch. The transfer switch is often a simple switch without any feedback provided to the customer.